


What if.

by ahatedgoodbye



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Brotherly Love, Mild Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-26
Updated: 2018-03-26
Packaged: 2019-04-08 05:00:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14097786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ahatedgoodbye/pseuds/ahatedgoodbye
Summary: The night after the promised day, Edward couldn't sleep. Instead he watches over his brother, as his brother had done countless nights before.





	What if.

The night after the promised day, Edward couldn’t sleep. Every time he closed his eyes, the sight of his brother giving up his life, _transmuting his own soul,_ to save him flashed in his head. He had almost lost his brother again. The thought twisted his heart, pressing on his chest until it was hard to breathe.

What if Edward hadn’t been able to save him?

‘ _No. That doesn’t matter. He’s here. He’s safe. We’re together, just as we have always been._ ’ Ed tried to console himself, to no avail. That question kept clawing its way through his brain, refusing to let him rest despite his exhaustion.

He was sitting in a chair next to his brother’s bed in their shared hospital room. A dim light shone through the thin curtains, illuminating the room just enough so that he could see his brother’s sleeping form. He watched it closely, studying every line, every angle of the body they had spent so long searching for. Alphonse’s face was hallowed, his body malnourished from the time it had spent in the gate. His shoulders were bony, and Ed could see the protruding collarbones peeking from the neckline of the hospital gown. A faint smile graced Al’s features, and unconsciously Ed mirrored it. He listened to his brother’s breathing, steady and deep in his slumber, and used it to keep his thoughts at bay.

Al shivered. He was so frail that his body was unable to maintain its own heat properly, and the thin hospital blanket wasn’t doing much to help. Ed stood up and walked over to his own bed, grabbing the blanket there and bringing it back to drape it over his sleeping brother. Al stirred, still very sensitive to touch. His eyelids fluttered open and gold eyes met a matching pair.

“Brother?”

“Shh, it’s nothing. Go back to sleep.” Ed reassured him.

“Okay.” Al’s eyes closed again. Ed sat back down and waited for Al’s breathing to slow again. It didn’t, and after a few minutes Al opened his eyes.

“Brother?” he asked quietly.

“Yeah Al?”

“I’m…I’m cold. Will you…” he hesitated. “Will you lay here with me?”

“Of course.” Ed replied gently, peeling up the covers and sliding underneath. Al tucked his chin in, resting his forehead against his brother’s chest and draping an arm over Ed’s waist. Ed laid his chin against the top of his brother’s head and tucked his left arm in the space under Al’s neck. He placed his right arm over Al’s left, making sure that the leftover automail pieces in his shoulder weren’t scratching against his brother’s delicate skin.

Another shiver ran through Alphonse as the warmth settled in and Ed momentarily tightened his hold. Al repeated the motion, nuzzling his face into his brother’s chest. In this position, the blankets weren’t covering most of Ed’s torso, but Ed didn’t care. How many nights had Alphonse spent awake, alone, just watching over him? Al had done so much for him. A tear rolled across the bridge of his nose and down to the pillow, but he didn’t dare wipe it away.

Ed felt his brother’s breathing more than he heard it. The small puffs of air against his shirt, the rise and fall of Al’s chest. He felt his brother’s warmth and holding his brother in his arms, _alive_ , was enough to finally drive away his thoughts of _what if_. Once his brother’s breathing deepened again, he allowed himself the faintest whisper before he succumbed to his exhaustion.

“Thank you, Al. I love you.”

**Author's Note:**

> I had the idea of a parallel where Ed watches over Al the first time he sleeps after getting his body back and I thought it was going to be more angsty but it kinda turned into something sweet.


End file.
